Eastern redbud tree &#39;JN2&#39;

ABSTRACT

An Eastern Redbud tree named ‘JN2’ having golden orange new growth that does not burn, speckled lime green mature foliage, an improved vigor in heat and drought, and the capability of being reproduced reliably from budding.

LATIN NAME

Cercis canadensis

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Cerciscanadensis, an Eastern Redbud tree, referred to by its varietal name‘JN2’.

Discovery

I discovered my new tree in the spring, 2006, growing in a productionarea of a bare-root liner field in Belvidere, Franklin County, Tenn.,among a group of cultivated Eastern Redbud trees. The trees were grownfrom collected seeds planted in 2004.

Propagation

‘JN2’ was asexually propagated, initially by chip budding onto seedlingrootstock, at my direction in the Summer, 2007 at my nursery inBelvidere, Tenn. This propagation and resulting progeny have proven thecharacteristics of my new variety to be firmly fixed. Furthermore, theseobservations have confirmed that my new variety represents a new andimproved variety of Eastern Redbud tree as particularly evidenced by agolden orange new growth that does not burn, speckled lime green maturefoliage, improved vigor in heat and drought, and which can be reliablyasexually propagated.

Uniqueness

‘JN2’ was observed to have a golden orange new growth that does notburn, speckled lime green mature foliage, and improved vigor in heat anddrought. These characteristics distinguish my new tree from othertypical seedling Eastern Redbud trees and known cultivators. Since mytree is from a seedling of unknown parentage, I cannot compare orcontrast the characteristics of my new tree with its parent.

Use

‘JN2’ was observed for a period of time and is believed to beparticularly useful anywhere that Eastern Redbud trees are used; forexample, as a specimen tree, or in groupings for a lawn or shrub border,and in naturalized settings. An Eastern Redbud tree with durable, goldenorange new growth and speckled lime green foliage is very useful in bothresidential and commercial landscapes. A heat and drought tolerantselection of Eastern Rosebud trees would be useful in both landscapingand in the nursery.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An Eastern Redbud tree is typically a small, spring-flowering tree withspreading branches forming a rounded canopy of dark green leaves. My newcultivar differs from the species in that it has a golden orange newgrowth that does not burn, speckled lime green mature foliage, andimproved vigor in heat and drought. Eastern Redbud trees are native fromnorthern Florida to New Jersey, and west to Missouri and Texas, andnorthern Mexico. Eastern Redbud trees prefer moist, well drained soilswith a slightly alkaline pH, and grow better in sun than in shade. Thetree tolerates a variety of climates ranging from wet to dry, and avariety of soils ranging from alkaline to acidic. The Eastern Redbudtree is considered an understory tree and is very tolerant ofcompetition and nutrient deficiency. It is intolerant of anaerobic soilconditions and will not grow on flooded sites. My new tree has not beenobserved under all growing conditions, but in a nursery setting inTennessee, it has been a vigorous grower, and I expect it to performsimilarly to the species.

Industry Representation

A cultivated Eastern Redbud tree is represented in the industry byseedling material and several cultivars. Most redbud trees are grownfrom seed, but there are a number of popular and available cultivarswhich are propagated by budding or tissue culture. In his Manual ofWoody Landscape Plants, Dr. Michael A. Dirr lists 12 cultivars of Cerciscanadensis, 2 subspecies, and 2 cultivars of the subspecies texensis.Although this list is not exhaustive, it does represent what wasgenerally available to the industry prior to 1998. None of thesecultivars has the golden orange foliage color of my new tree. A searchof the United States Patent and Trademark Office published patents shows6 patented cultivars, 4 of which do not appear on Dr. Dirr's list. Onlyone of these, Cercis canadensis ‘Hearts of Gold’ U.S. Plant Pat. No.17,740 (referred to hereinafter as ‘Hearts of Gold’) has yellow foliagecolor. Although there are no industry data on redbud sales, the mostpopular cultivar of Cercis canadensis at the current time is probablyCercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,556 (hereinafterreferred to as ‘Forest Pansy’), which has a purple leaf. ‘Hearts ofGold’ has only been available to the industry for a couple of years, butit is gaining in popularity. It is described in U.S. Plant Pat. No.17,740 as having “orange-red” new growth, “bright, yellow-green leaves,”and “bright golden foliage”. My new tree has golden orange new growthand speckled lime-green mature leaves. In the summer of 2007, a severedrought in our area provided an opportunity to observe the durability ofthese two cultivars side-by-side. ‘The Hearts of Gold’ redbud tree quitflourishing in late summer and the foliage faded to a pale yellow greenand burned in the heat and drought. My ‘JN2’ redbud tree continued toflourish through the summer, producing new golden orange foliage thatdid not burn. A late freeze in the spring of 2007 killed back many ofthe propagules of ‘JN2’, as well as other seedling and cultivars, and sothe largest specimen of my ‘JN2’ redbud tree, which is two years old, iscurrently about 4′ tall and ¼″ in caliper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying photographs depict the color of the tree and foliage ofmy new variety as nearly as is reasonably possible to make the same in acolor illustration of this character.

FIG. 1 depicts the development of the new growth of my ‘JN2’ redbudtree. The newest growth is golden orange (RHS 23B), developing intobright yellow (RHS 6C), then into yellow green (RHS 151D).

FIG. 2 depicts the full development of foliage from new to mature. Thenewest growth is golden orange (RHS 23B), developing into bright yellow(RHS 6C), then into yellow green (RHS 151D), finally maturing into lightgreen (RHS 139B) with some lighter and darker speckling.

FIG. 3 depicts the speckling which appears as the leaf matures and isbest represented as green (RHS 141B) on a yellow green (RHS 153A)background.

FIG. 4 depicts a comparison between my ‘JN2’ redbud tree (the two treeson the right) and a cutting of ‘Hearts of Gold’ on the left. Theslightly pendulous habit can be seen on the new growth of my ‘JN2’redbud tree in contrast to the less pendulous growth of the ‘Hearts ofGold’ redbud tree. This figure also shows the contrast of the “orangered” new growth of the ‘Hearts of Gold’ tree and the golden orange newgrowth of my new tree.

FIG. 5 depicts the flowers of my new tree.

FIG. 6 depicts the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves of my newtree.

FIG. 7 depicts the fall foliage on my new tree.

FIG. 8 depicts the branching of my new tree and flowers on my new tree.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following is a detailed description of my new variety of easternRedbud with color terminology in accordance with The Royal HorticultureSociety Colour Chart (RHS), 2005 edition, except where the contextindicates a term having its ordinary dictionary meaning. My new tree hasnot been observed under all growing conditions and variations may occuras a result of different growing conditions. All progeny of my newvariety of redbud tree, insofar as have been observed, have beenidentical in all the characteristics described below.

Other than as set forth below, as of this time, no other characteristicsof my new ‘JN2’ redbud tree have been observed by the inventor which aredifferent from the characteristics common to Eastern Redbud trees.

-   Parentage: Seedling of unknown parentage grown from collected seed    planted in 2004. The parent tree was an Eastern Redbud tree of    unknown variety.-   Locality where grown and observed: A production field in Belvidere,    Franklin County, Tenn.-   Leaves: Slightly larger than is typical of the species, but    insignificantly so; opposite, simple, broad-ovate to suborbicular,    cordate, acute, entire, 4″ to 6″ wide by 4″ to 6″ long. The leaf    color develops from a golden orange to a speckled lime green as    shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6. The new growth is golden orange (RHS    23B), developing into bright yellow (RHS 6C), then into yellow green    (RHS 151D). The speckling appears as the leaf matures, as shown in    FIGS. 3 and 6, and is the best represented as green (RHS 141B) on a    yellow green (RHS 153A) background. At maturity, as shown by the    lower leaves in FIG. 2 and the leaves show in FIG. 6, the leaves are    light green (RHS 139B) with some lighter and darker speckling. As    show in FIG. 8, fall color is typical of the species, light yellow.    The venation pattern consists of a series of primary veins radiating    from the base of a leaf toward the apex or outer margin of the leaf.    Secondary veins branch off from each side of a primary vein at    spaced intervals along the length of the primary vein. The color of    the primary veins is a purple pink (RHS 68A). See FIG. 6.-   Petiole: 1½′ to 2½′ long, emerging orange (RHS 53D) to pink (RHS    50B) and maturing to light green (RHS 153D). FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show    this trait.-   Buds: Typical of the species; small laterals ⅛″ or less long, blunt,    blackish red, somewhat flattened and oppressed, overlapping bud    scales, somewhat hairy on the edges. Flower buds are larger (¼″) and    more rounded than leaf buds and are often clustered around each    node.-   Flowers: Typical of the species; perfect, reddish-purple (RHS 63A)    in bud opening to a pinkish-purple bloom (RHS 66C); ½″ long on a ½″    pedicel; flower in March-April for 2-3 weeks; racemose, borne 4″-8″    together, often flowering on old trunks 4″-8″ in diameter. The    species typically flowers in 4-6 years from a seed. My new tree has    already flowered after 3 years of observation, as shown in FIGS. 5    and 8.-   Fruit: To date, I have observed no fruit on my new tree.-   Stem: Slender, glabrous, similar to the petioles in color: initially    light yellow (RHS 11A), maturing to light green (RHS 153D) in the    first year and then brown in the second year. FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show    this trait.-   Trunk: Lighter in color than the species, but not significantly so.    The species has a bark that matures to brownish-black (RHS 200A) and    develops a scaly condition. My new ‘JN2’ redbud tree currently has a    golden brown mature bark, and although my tree has not been observed    for long enough to exhibit this scaly trait, I expect it will be    typical of the species.-   Branching: Typical of the species with ascending, spreading    branches. Both the new growth and mature stems are somewhat    pendulous compared to the ‘Hearts of Gold’ redbud tree, which is    described as having “upright stems and primary branches.” This trait    and comparison between the trees is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in    FIG. 8, branches radiate from the trunk of my tree ‘JN2’ at an acute    angel of approximately 45°.-   Root System: Redbuds are difficult to propagate from cuttings and    all of the propagules of my new ‘JN2’ redbud tree have been    reproduced from chip budding onto seedling rootstocks. The root    system of my tree is fibrous and coarse which is typical of the    species.-   Growth habit: Typical of the species; small, spreading tree with    moderate growth rate.-   Vigor: More vigorous than the species; performs well in heat and    drought.-   Diseases: The species is susceptible to canker, verticillium wilt,    and leaf spot. I have not observed any of these on my new tree or    its propagules.-   Pests: Treehoppers, leafhoppers, caterpillars, and scales can all    cause damage, but the damage is cosmetic and rare. Redbud as a    species is resilient to pests. I have observed no pest problems on    my new tree or its propagules.

1. A new and distinct variety of eastern redbud tree named ‘JN2’substantially as herein shown and described, characterized particularlyas to novelty by a golden orange new growth that does not burn, speckledlime green mature foliage, and improved vigor in heat and drought.